Up To 10% Of Children Start School Suffering From Sleep Disturbances

Up to 10% of children starting school suffer from sleep disturbances and these may lead to poor performance or behavioral difficulties.

Share:

Total shares:

FULL STORY

Up to 10% of children starting school suffer from sleep disturbances and these may lead to poor performance or behavioral difficulties. In the current edition of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, the child and adolescent psychiatrist Gerd Lehmkuhl and his colleagues present the results of a study from Cologne, Germany.

The authors have as yet interviewed 1388 children starting school and their parents from all parts of Cologne. They investigated the sleeping behavior, factors such as noise or light in the sleeping environment, and the volunteers' daily activity.

They also recorded current behavioral abnormalities, including emotional problems, hyperactivity, and problems with contemporaries. The conflict situation every evening was also stressful for brothers and sisters. The most frequent problem reported by the parents was that their children had difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. The problems were at least twice as frequent if the children went to bed at variable times.

Although was no problem if the children watched television before going to bed, children with a television set in their room woke up more frequently during the night. Infections, allergies and, particularly, stress within the family led to problems in falling asleep or staying asleep.

The children were then tired, irritable, and restless during the following day. As sleeping difficulties are often not the primary reason for visiting the pediatrician, they must be recorded during routine investigations. This makes it possible to distinguish between typical developmental difficulties and abnormal sleep disturbances.

Deutsches Aerzteblatt International. "Up To 10% Of Children Start School Suffering From Sleep Disturbances." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 December 2008. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081203084541.htm>.

Deutsches Aerzteblatt International. (2008, December 4). Up To 10% Of Children Start School Suffering From Sleep Disturbances. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 2, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081203084541.htm

Deutsches Aerzteblatt International. "Up To 10% Of Children Start School Suffering From Sleep Disturbances." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081203084541.htm (accessed August 2, 2015).

July 29, 2015  Viewing aquarium displays led to noticeable reductions in blood pressure and heart rate, a research team found in the first study of its kind. They also noted that higher numbers of fish helped to ... read more

July 31, 2015  Perfectionistic concerns have a positive relationship with overall burnout and symptoms of burnout, research has found. Perfectionistic concerns can create stress, interfere with relationships and ... read more

July 30, 2015  As high school and college athletes hit the fields and courts in pre-season practice, concussion awareness should be part of their education, experts say, as most concussions happen during practice ... read more

June 8, 2015  Children with traumatic brain injuries have poorer sleep and more daytime sleepiness in comparison to healthy children, new research confirms. The children with TBI also had impaired emotional, ... read more

Feb. 10, 2015  Depression is a powerful predictor of nighttime sleep disturbances among stroke survivors, according to research. Sleep disturbances -- the duration and time intervals of nighttime sleep, the ... read more

Oct. 6, 2014  Sleep disturbances are linked to pain and depression, but not disability, among patients with osteoarthritis. Study results found that poor sleep increases depression and disability, but does not ... read more

Oct. 25, 2010  Sleep disturbances increase the risk of work disability and may slow the return to work process. This is especially true in cases where work disability is due to mental disorders or musculoskeletal ... read more